US Road Trip in summer- what preps to take

[gussyfinknottle]

I'm a UK prepper with US family. I'm the only prepper in the party. I'm taking a deep breath and travelling to US again this year (gone past few summers with dh and dd). This time, instead of staying in one spot (with some mini road trips) we are doing one big one.
What would you take from UK?
Obviously no food stuffs. We must travel pretty light. We will travel with plenty of water. One of our US party smokes so having means to make fire pretty essential for them .
I'll take light first aid kit.
What would you add from the UK?
And if you are in the US, what would you bring along.
I watch lots of US and UK prepper vids (ok mostly US). I'm more of a bug in than bug out kind of prepper.

[lostinsunshine]

It's a really good idea for a bit of morale boosting. An overlooked feature.

[BiddyPop]

(I've noted someone's idea above of baking a cake before a hurricane - I'm going to adopt that for when snow hits in future to cheer us all up!!)

[lostinsunshine]

Good tips there

[BiddyPop]

I'd hit up the local Walmart on arrival too - a couple of interesting looking dehydrated meals would be light to carry and you could try them out en route (would you be able to get a few then at the local Walmart or similar at the end before heading home? Are they allowed into the UK?).

Are you RV'ing and cooking along the way?

Or car driving and eating in restaurants/motels etc?

If RV'ing, perhaps some sachets of seasonings to make whatever ingredients you do find on the trail more interesting/easy to prepare. I know I've got things like fajita seasoning before to shake onto chicken or veggies to give them some (but not a lot) of spice and flavor. Or packets of "ranch dressing" that you add to yoghurt/mayonnaise to make the dressing for salads (other types are available, for creamy or oily type dressings).

Some bottles of squash type concentrate, to make with fresh water along the way.

And, if you will be BBQ'ing/"grilling", a pack of bamboo skewers to be able to make kebabs or 'smores etc (added bonus of being burnable as well as disposable). Or a pack of those long 'smores sticks that the Dollar Tree and similar places sell, but remember to hold on to those as you go along if you can (they're washable and reusable, but handy for DCs as they are long, and can be burned on the last night if you don't want to bring them home).

[mathanxiety]

Not in my local Walmart. They don't even sell BB guns there either. It would only encourage people to kill each other in the car park with their brand new weaponry.

There was a shooting there late one Christmas Eve after two parties started fighting over someone cutting in line

[SenecaFalls]

There are still a few Mom and Pop side of the road shops in the US where you might find the live bait cooler right next to the ice cream.

[Cavender]

They sell seriously looking bows and arrows too Math don’t they? I’m not up in the rules surrounding the sales of those types of weapons though..

I haven’t quite recovered from the children’s playset I saw the other day which had a cute kids bow and arrow complete with several toy deer to fire them at...

[mathanxiety]

You could buy bait and fishing rods in Walmart, and a fishing licence. Keep the bait in your cooler with your Dr Pepper...

[Cavender]

Just before Harvey hit last year I saw a lovely man tootling round the supermarket with his trolley completely filled with brownies, doughnuts, little Debbie’s and cookies.

I had bottled water, spare batteries, pasta and cans of soup.

I bet his week was spent in a lovely happy sugar coma. I was a bit jealous.

[SenecaFalls]

We have a hurricane emergency preparedness bag which has high calorie emergency ration bars but I would actually have to be starving to eat them...

DH always fills our hurricane kit with things like Spam and canned beef stew. Yuck. I always bake a cake when a hurricane is coming.

But it looks as though OP is steering clear of hurricane country. Tornadoes might be an issue though.

[Cavender]

Weeds well it’s nice that there are some rules around gun ownership...

[Weedsnseeds1]

There's always a catch cavender.

[gussyfinknottle]

I have no plans to buy guns and ammo. Just so we are clear.
My family members aren't gun owners either.

[Cavender]

You can get guns and ammo in Walmart when you arrive.

Not if you are a foreign national.

[gussyfinknottle]

Weedsneeds1 - thank god you have thought it all through for me. Or should that be "thru".

[Weedsnseeds1]

You can get guns and ammo in Walmart when you arrive.
If you're going near Montana, I believe their gun laws are pretty slack. If you're under 14 though, your mummy will need to be there to supervise while you use it. Safety first

[Weedsnseeds1]

In addition to cozie's advice regarding old, abandoned houses with their own water source and well stocked larder.
If it all kicks off while you are in a city, head for the outskirts. There are always enoumous houses in easily fortifiable gated communities, with solar power, swimming pools and home cinemas where you can wait out the apocalypse in comfort.
They also have huge gardens for growing crops.

[gussyfinknottle]

Not sure you can take guns and ammo on the plane to get there or even buy them readily in the UK. I can write a strongly worded letter, though. That will help

[cozietoesie]

Oh - and avoid West Coast beaches of course.

[Weedsnseeds1]

Alcohol, cigarettes and chewing gum generally advised for trading purposes in zombie apocalypse.
Guns, ammo, hunting bow ( so you can kill food without the sound of gunshots alerting zombies) and maybe a flame thrower?
A few machetes probably useful too.

[Weedsnseeds1]

Travel insurance with good medical cover.
Oh, and don't pick up hitch-hikers outside state penitentiaries. But don't worry, there are lots of signs on the approach to them, reminding you, in case you get the urge to stop for an orange clad figure thumbing a lift!
Plenty of fluids, spare wheel in good condition, tyre inflator kit.
Generally you don't need to go far to find food in the states, but if you are visiting national parks it wouldn't hurt to bring some supplies.

[Cavender]

It’s America gussy food is never far away, from gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants to Mom & Pop cafes and roadside fruit stands.

We have a hurricane emergency preparedness bag which has high calorie emergency ration bars but I would actually have to be starving to eat them...

[gussyfinknottle]

@cozietoesie

[cozietoesie]

gussy


If the Zombie Apocalypse happens while you're on the road trip, you're far likelier, in the States, to find an old abandoned house with eg a well and full cupboards with such things as jars of preserved fruit. It's not inevitable - just more likely.

If there's no ZA, then it's just a long road trip.

Have fun.

[gussyfinknottle]

Thanks @Cavender . That's really helpful. I think my US family member is keen on the cool box idea. Smaller road trips we've done before, we usually had them and filled up with Ice where we could.
You are right about air con. Actually all planning to have a cardi/hoodie for the car and restaurants because it can be really chilly.
The food thing is the slightly twitchy prepper in me.